Embodiments relate to the field of document management and to document synchronization in a distributed server-client environment. It is an increasing trend for members inside and outside of an enterprise or business to collaborate toward a common task. In such collaboration, electronic document files are distributed by the authors of the documents for sharing by the collaborators. As smart devices such as smart phones and tablets proliferate, there is increased use of EMS (Enterprise Mobility Service), for example, that may connect to an enterprise legacy system.
In some related document management systems, if a revision occurs after a document creator first uploads a document for distribution, distribution of the subsequent revision is done by file transmission or download. For example, the document creator may upload the most recently revised document in the server so that other users can download that most recently revised document. Alternatively, the document creator may send emails to the users by attaching the most recently revised.
Some methods designate a local folder or storage to store a document for sharing. However, there may be limitations to this method because it requires users to connect to the server or check emails. In a distributed environment where users access documents from local computers, many local copies may exist. As a result, synchronization of documents can become relatively difficult. A distributor can broadcast the most recent version every time, but such broadcasting may cause serious network bandwidth problems.